Lord Burnett: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many civil servants in HM Revenue and Customs have been assigned to deal with the offshore account amnesty.

Lord Adonis: The table below shows the proportion of young people aged between 16 and 18 years who were not in education, employment or training (NEET) at the end of each of the past 10 years. The proportion NEET at the end of 2006 was 10.3 per cent.
	
		
			 Table—young people aged 16 to 18 not in education, employment or training 
			 End of calendar year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 provisional 
			 Proportion 8.5% 9.4% 8.1% 9.1% 9.5% 9.5% 9.2% 9.7% 10.9% 10.3% 
			 Numbers 154,300 170,300 144,500 162,900 175,900 180,200 178,700 190,000 217,100 206,200 
			 Source: SFR 22/2007—www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000734/sfr22_2007.pdf 
		
	
	Young people who are NEET have a very mixed range of characteristics. Not all are unemployed—they may be taking a gap year, caring for family, or simply be between jobs or courses.
	The department's strategy for assisting young people to re-engage is based on four key elements: careful tracking to identify young people's needs; a flexible mix of learning provision designed to meet the needs of every young person in every area; good advice and support to enable young people to access suitable provision; and a set of clear rights and responsibilities for young people to re-engage should they become NEET. Together with the education and training and Youth Matters reforms, these will make a significant reduction in the proportion of young people NEET and put us on the pathway to ensuring that all young people participate in education or training up to the age of 18.
	A strategy, setting these out in detail, was published in November 2007, and is available on the DCSF website at www.dfes.gov.uk/1419/index.cfm?sid=42& pid=343&lid=336&ctype=Text&ptype=Single).